At Your Side
by Queen of Hexes
Summary: Gerrida Grady watched her family die and only escaped meeting the same fate by the skin of her teeth. Follow her story as she and her brother Grubb's deal with the horror's they faced on that dark, demon filled night.
1. Blood at the Grady House

_Disclaimer-I don't own any of the remarkable works of Darren Shan........unfortunately_

Screams.

Blood.

Death.

Violence.

I was pinned, my arms twisted and broken behind my back, the jagged bones, stabbing through my blood stained skin. The giggling beasts of hell advanced once again, preparing to start their grisly torture anew. Tears fell, leaving glistening trails of moisture down my cheeks, stinging as they caught in the gaping wounds that lined my face. Sobs tore from my throat-my mum, my dad...my twin all lay dead around me, terror etched into their motionless, dead faces- but not my dads, because my dad was hung from the ceiling-decapitated, his nearly depleted blood, still dripping steadily to the floor, I had watched him fight and struggle, striving to protect his family-a task that he failed.  
My mum, she was being eaten by the disgusting monster, a ghoulish cross between dog, alligator and woman, a monstrosity named Vein, she raised her jaw and growled, my mothers blood and guts dripping from her snarling muzzle, I looked away-I had watched my mother never back down, screaming and yelling, until her cries had been silenced for ever by a viscous jerk of Veins jaws.  
And my twin, my other half, my soul, she lay, torn in half and discarded on the blood slicked floor, her face smeared in her own blood, mouth wide open in a scream that she never had the chance to utter. I had felt it when she had died, like my own soul was being shredded and torn, joining with my sisters. I watched her being tortured, her screams forever etched into my head and I had been helpless, tied up and broken-I hadn't been able to save her. I hadn't been able to save any of them.  
I'd been tortured to, they had forced me to watch my family die, ripped apart in front of my eyes and they had tortured me physically as well, to the point of near death-death that I prayed for, I would soon join the souls of my family. I could feel the Otherworldly tug upon me, as my blood pooled to the floor. I prayed for anything that would make my unbearable pain dissipate.

I arched desperately at the webs that fastened me tightly to my wall, crushing my body against my broken arms "LEAVE ME ALONE!" I yelled, fear swelling in my breast, crashing over me in painful waves, my head spinning with absolute terror, eyes rolling back into my head. A slight breeze, brushed against my skin as a hand reached for me.

"DAAADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!" the ghastly, hoarse scream chilled me to the bone. The creature that stood before me, a monster that held the ghoulish shape of a toddler, withcockroaches for hair and mouths in it's palms, whipped it's hand away from me and spunaround, I looked on with indescribable horror "No!" I cried, I couldn't watch as any more of my family members died "GRUBBS! no, run, Grubbs, run now-run NOW!!" he stared around in hapless horror, terror rooting him to the spot.  
The disgusting monster, the one that initiated most of the 'games', the one with the lumpy, red skin; skin that cracked and bleed, the monster with a gaping whole in it's chest, filled with hissing, writhing snakes: the monster with silted nostrils and darting tongue that flared and flicked with delight as they tasted the air, his name was Lord Loss. He smiled. A horrible caricature of a smile, a smile that send tendrils of ice gripping at me tight. And then her spoke, He spoke in a voice so filled with melancholy that it intensified the agonising throb of loss that ate away at my cankering heart .

"Ah, dear Grubstich, how sad you must be-Mother Dead. Father Dead. Sister Dead and your other sister about to join them, give me that sorrow Grubstich, give me that misery" my brother shuddered, tears flowing freely "Mum? Dad? Gret?" he whispered, his voice was broken and child-like, unable to believe what he was seeing "Grubbs, Grubbs run, run now, please" I pleaded. His body shook, he couldn't hear my voice, Lord Loss smiled again and continued "That's right, their gone and dear Gerrida soon with them, give in to your sorrow, give Lord Loss you pain" I snarled "NO! leave him alone-LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Vein surged to her feet and leapt towards me, snapping at my stomach. Her teeth embedded into my stomach. I screamed, an agony filled scream.  
Grubbs blinked, as if he seeing once more and took a step forward "No GRUBBS RUN". A snarl and another bite, a slash, a stab, a tearing, a burning, a sickening chomping and I cried out, a terrifying scream that seemed to be infused with power, rising to an unearthly pitch , it vibrated, throbbed, twisted, I could stop it: it just carried on intensifying in volume until the glass shattered around us, with a resounding crash, the scream flattered, the creatures hunched over.  
Taking advantage of the moment of confusion, Grubbs darted forward tearing desperately at the webs that surrounded me, their stickiness turning into a sharp, razor like substance- tearing his hands into shreds, the bloods staining the pure whiteness and then I was free, falling to the ground with a thump, my bones crunching loudly and with Grubbs dragging me mercilessly to my feet we ran.

We speed down the stairs with an inhuman speed, the hellish things snapping at our heels. Grubbs lurched forward, hand gripping the nearest object his fingers found and witha savage cry he threw it with unnatural ferocity, it flew straight and punctured a hole straight through the wall, beside the snarling monsters head. He paused for a brief second, looking down to his hands in shocked disbelief.  
The beast advanced and with a hoarse scream, he grabbed at me once again, half lifting me, half dragging me.  
We backed into the kitchen. Grubb's tugged at the door with desperation, tears streaming down his cheeks. I groaned, arms crossed tightly over my stomach, trying to prevent the inevitable loss of blood and guts. Blood trickled from the side of my mouth and staggering forward, I gurgled "Yo-u r-un, don't wor-rybout me" he shook his head vigorously, a terrifying snarl sounded and I spun, seeing the demon stalking forward, her muzzle stained with dripping blood.  
Grubbsgasped and backed away, his grip on me still strong and his face setting with determination, he dived to the side and defying all odds, we squeezed through the dog flap and suddenly we were free and riding the cool night.

For a moment everything was peaceful, a single uninterrupted moment when everything was calm and soft and no wrongs existed and then we crashed to earth-literally.

I tried to stand, but the adrenaline had drained away along with my blood, agony consumed me, both physically and emotionally. I groaned and wept, feeling the warm flow of my blood from between my tightly clenched fingers and the last thing I hear before the motherly, embrace of unconsciousness gripped me, was my brothers, dark and agonised cry.

_So what do you think? I hope it's not to cliche, but please review and tell me what you think!!!_


	2. The Rescue by a Man in Denim

Floating. Drifting. Living in my own world. A nightmarish, hellish world that weighed unbearably hard on my mind.

Sterile Whiteness, Glaring lights. They were oppressive, burning iridescent patterns upon my iris, they reminded me of purity, of wholeness-two things I couldn't believe in right now, how could I when the demons had left a stain in my soul? When my twin lay dead?

__

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The heart monitor. The steady and rhythmic bleeping of my heart, it rung bleakly in my ears. It took everything to stop myself from ripping it free, it reminded me of my own mortality it was the evidence that while I lived, most of my family lay dead and rotting in the hard, cold ground-I hadn't even been able to say goodbye.

__

You could have saved them

It had been three months.  
All of that time had passed. It seemed like an eternity.  
Three months since my mum, my dad....my twin had been slaughtered before my eyes. Three months since I had been tortured to near death beside them. Three months since my brother had been incarcerated in a mental health ward, unable to cope with what he had seen.

__

Your fault, you could have stopped it

I turned my head from the accusing glare of the fluorescent lights, a single tear falling from my eyes, a single crystalline droplet that fell to the sticky, sweat soaked sheets, the result of my night full of nightmares.

"Oh, poor little Lamb"

The voice came from no where, I jerked, my limbs freezing with terror, I turned my face slowly. I sighed with relief; it was only the nurse, a portly, matronly woman with a sad expression upon her face. She bustled around, changing the dressings on my practically healed wounds "Don't you cry now" her voice was soft and melodic in pitch and in reminded me so much of my mother, it caused the tears to fall faster, starting out pure and then mingling with the soiled sheets, becoming unclean.

The nurse clicked her tongue and placed her cool hand on my brow "You call if you need anything" and then she was gone, leaving me alone with my tears and my nightmares. Imagining demons in every shadow.

"Grubbs"

The name shuddered up my throat like broken glass, I hadn't spoken since it happened and it didn't just hurt physically it hurt emotionally, more than I imagined possible.

"Grubbs is fine you know"

My muscles froze and my eyes turned towards the noise, I breathed heavily staring at the intruder.

A man stood at the end of my bed, he was a tall man and dressed from head to toe in denim, a tight beard adorned his pointed chin and he looked down at me with a neutral expression upon his face. I stared uncomprehendingly before recognition clicked with a resounding thud in my head "Un-cle Der-vish" I said slowly, my throat burning as I exerted to much pressure upon it the disused vocal cords.  
He nodded, I remembered Uncle Dervish, he was my dads brother-mum hated him and he had only visited a few times when I was younger.

He sat down on the chair beside my bed. The first visitor to occupy it for quite some time. Distant family had come at first, for a while, they'd all stopped coming when word got round that I refused to speak.  
"Grubb's is fine and he's coming to live with me, he's being released in a week" I clenched my eyes shut in relief; it meant a huge deal to me that someone cared enough to take him in. He was only thirteen, he needed someone.  
A silence followed, a long, comfortable silence that was suddenly broken by a sharp cough "Your welcome to live with me as well" my head snapped around to face him, I would have never expected that anybody would want to take _me _in!

__

You're Fault

"I talked to the doctor, he told me about the virus you contracted after you surgery and he told me that you'll be released in one week minimum" Tears swam in my eyes one again.

"But the police" he continued, his strange, pale blue eyes boring into my green ones "The police, they want to speak with you, they want your statement, they've been patient….by their standards anyway" he chuckled without humour "But they won't be 'patient' for much longer" I tilted my head "what's the po-int? they'd nev-er beli-eve me----and neit-her will you" I sat up in the bed as far as I could, an ache rippling through me, he nodded and without taking his eyes from me, he pulled a stack of paper from his jacket and separated it into two piles.

He held the first one up, I froze, horror spreading through my blood like icy tendrils, it threw me into a pit of memories that I never wanted to remember again.

"_Vein_" I whispered in a barely audible murmur, he nodded solemnly and changed the picture with deliberate slowness "Artery" he said softly, carefully gauging my reactions, but it was the final picture that sent me to pieces "_Lord Loss" _we whispered in unison, I rocked slowly backwards and forward, my eyes flitting into the shadows, the picture brought a tidal wave of horrendous memories. He nodded understandingly and shoved the pictures from sight

I exhaled, feeling the shock of oxygen hit my system, I hadn't even realised that I had been holding my breath, I still rocked slowly, comforting myself, I pointed at the other stack of paper, cringing slightly; expecting something bad to be scribed upon the innocent, white sheets.

He smiled slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching up, he reached out and briskly shuffled the already, perfectly arranged papers "Grubb's, under my advice, realised that no sane person would believe him about the demons"

__

Demons? They had been demons? Those monsters?

Unadulterated horror shuddered through me, I stared at my uncle, my eyes wide and my mouth open "He lied to the police, he gave them descriptions of human attackers-I thought it was for the best that your descriptions matched and no one gets suspicious" he held out the stack and with trembling hands, I gripped the proffered papers and gripped them tight to my chest.  
He leaned forward "You need to heal, physically and mentally-it will take a while, soon you'll be released and you can come live with me and your brother-if you want to-I can tell you about the demons, I can help you understand why your sister and parents had to die, why you nearly joined them" I nodded softly, he stood "I can pick you up soon" I nodded again, glancing away hiding the tears forming, when I looked back he was gone.

**One week Later**

I was packed and ready to go, well as ready as I could ever be.

The police had come and gone.  
Proud, that's what they said, they were proud of me, I snarled in disbelief-they could never catch my family's killers, not ever, what was the point? How could they be _proud_ of me?  
I had remained silent through much of their interrogation's, nodding or shaking my head at the appropriate places, speaking only I absolutely had to and even then in a quiet monotonous tone, writing and drawing descriptions of the falsified murderers- while they smiled and beamed "yes! That's exactly as your brother described them!" they had doubted me, I could tell and so I just stopped listening-I couldn't bear listening to their promises that they'd 'catch them soon' I knew the truth and it tore me up slowly.  
Aches rippled through me as I moved, not pain anymore just bone aching weariness and a stiffness that was torturous, my injuries had been almost fatal, it was possible I would be feeling the effects for years to come.  
I sighed heavily, I couldn't wait to leave this place, but at the same time, I was dreading leaving the safety net that had surrounded me for months, it had kept me shrouded and shielded me away from the demons that rested in every shadow, in every corner.....in the darkest realms of my mind.  
A tap of footsteps had me leaning forward in anticipation "waiting for me?" I looked up and smiled brightly, a ghost of a smile passed across his lips and he grabbed the small bag that rested by my feet. "Come on" he gestured and dutifully I followed through the brightly light corridors.  
I looked back, tilting my head to the side. I smiled to myself, I wouldn't be back here if I could help and soon I would be with my brother again, the only thing I had left of my mum and dad and my sister.  
For the first time in months, I felt happy-A concept I had very nearly forgotten.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed:P

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